Kage no Kokoro
by Lavender Feline
Summary: Completed! (Taito) Being dumped is never easy, especially if you're Yamato. Sora kicked him out and Taichi is as messy a roomate as they come! Taichi tries to help Yamato out, but that means hiding his true feelings, something he's not very good at!
1. Ironic Rain

WARNING - This is my first real Digimon fic, so if it sucks or the characters are ooc I apologise, but hopefully that won't be a problem! ^_^;; This is YAOI, and more specifically TAITO! If this offends you, don't read it. I mean really, who would go "OOH! Taito! I HATE Taito! I should read this!" ^_^ ----genki smile  
  
Yeah anyway uhm... this is *sort* of based on the "real" ending of 02 (where they show the stupid couplings that FAIL) but more like my responce to what would happen if the characters actually began to go down that path. Except of course for the astronaut thing... but I'm sure you'll forgive me. ::LOOK! SARCASM!:: ^_^;;  
  
As for time-line, Taichi is out of a one year tech school and has his own apartment as fake jobs like 'network administrator' tend to pay a lot. Yamato is going to college for a liberal arts degree, and is about three years into it. They're both 22. Sora? Uhm... really, who cares? She works at a bank and wants to be a housewife. I will try to avoid blatant Sora- bashing, but I certainly am not going to start a fanclub for her either, I'll try to stay in the grey area. ^_^;;  
  
I dunno if this will get any lemon scenes yet, I'm just starting it dernit! I dunno how long it'll be either so don't ask! There might be some very slight lime flavored notions, but you can't avoid them when you're in Taichi's head... really! I mean have you tried? It's impossible!  
  
OK, enough ranting, on with the show...  
  
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Chapter 1 - Ironic Rain  
  
"The Ab-Tronic gave me the tightest abs ever! I couldn't believe the difference after just ONE week!"  
  
'Huh... I wonder if I need tighter abs...'  
  
"With only five EASY payments of 29.99 you can own your very own Ab- Tronic! Just take the easy to apply ELECTRODES and stick them on your stomach! Now turn on the machine and feel it work! It gently MASSAGES the muscles, but you feel like you've done 100 sit-ups!"  
  
'Wait- electrodes?! How can it gently massage and still make you feel like you've worked your ass off?'  
  
"The girls couldn't keep their hands off me after only ONE week!"  
  
"Feh, girls. You've lost your target audience!" With that, Taichi turned the TV off. "Although, I guess their target audience isn't... you know--" A knock on the door derailed Taichi's train of thought.  
  
Getting up to answer it, he quickly threw on a robe. Greeting guests in only aged boxers that, at once point, had glowed in the dark was not exactly the best way to make friends. Making his way to the door, he grabbed his bottle of Ramune soda and chugged the last bit down. The knocking sound was getting louder now, and was getting on Taichi's nerves.  
  
"Who the heck is at my door at bloody 2 AM, anyway? Shut up! I have neighbors you know! ...Not that I'm considerate of them... but you're a guest! You should be!" He opened the door. "...um..." was all that he could say.  
  
Yamato was drenched to the bone. His white (now see-through) button- up shirt was only half done up and messily tucked in. His black slacks were hanging loosely without a belt, and his hair looked barely brushed. There was something very, very wrong.  
  
"...hi..." Taichi finally managed. That was all it took to get Yamato's eyes leaking.  
  
"Can I stay here tonight?" the drenched boy asked, hanging his head.  
  
Taichi couldn't believe his luck. Yamato must have finally come to grips with his feelings for him! 'Heck, he's standing here disheveled and drenched to the bone! Except, it isn't raining...' "Um... why are you soaked?" Taichi asked hopefully. It must be some sort of attempt at turning him on! It must be! His eyes lowered to Yamato's chest and he realised that it wasn't failing either. He could see the pink coloration of the pale boy's nipples showing through the drenched fabric, and it made him think about what ELSE he might be looking at soon...  
  
"I must have walked through some sprinklers or something," Yamato muttered. "I didn't even notice."  
  
'Or, it could just be that he walked through some sprinklers,' Taichi sighed. 'I should start going to bed earlier, staying up late encourages way too wishful thinking.' Finally distracted from Yamato's sexy appearance, he noticed the blonde boy's expression.  
  
Eyes brimming over with tears, his lower lip trembling, his nose red from sniffling--he had never seen Yamato so upset. "What happened?" Taichi stared.  
  
"S...S...Sora and I..." Yamato began to sob. Taichi led him inside, closing the door behind him. He sat on the couch, and motioned for Yamato to follow. Instead, he suddenly felt Yamato wrapped around his waist, trembling.  
  
"Uhhhhhhhhh..." Taichi tried to pry the now suprisingly strong arms from around his waist, but Yamato didn't budge. He curled up next to Taichi and rested his head on his shoulder.  
  
"She... she says she doesn't love me because I'm too anal retentive about everything!" Yamato cried in-between sobs. Taichi didn't want to say anything because denying it would be a lie, and saying that he always thought his anal-retentiveness was cute would be inappropriate at a time like this. "She says we have to have time apart and that I never loved her anyway so it shouldn't matter and... and... I am anal rententive aren't I!" Yamato sobbed more.  
  
"Er... in a good way!" Taichi said cheerily, and tried to find a place to put his arms. He could fold them behind his head, but that felt awkward. He could hold them in the air but that was stupid. 'Or I can wrap my arms around him.' Taichi slowly placed his hand on Yamato's back. The only responce was that he was squeezed even tighter. 'I think I like this!' Taichi tried to hide the huge Cheshire smile that was appearing on his face, but it was hard.  
  
"So... you're single? Er... I mean you broke up?" The idea cheered Taichi even more, but he tried to sound sympathetic.  
  
"She didn't even give me a good reason! She kept saying things like, 'You don't love me anyway! You're too busy with work! You're too anal- retentive! It'll never work! You'll be happier this way!' and on and on and on and... And what about her?!" Yamato suddenly straightened, loosening his grip on Taichi, but not totally letting go. "Why is it all MY fault?! Isn't the dumper supposed to be KIND to the dumpee? Aren't they supposed to say stuff like 'It's not you! It's me! I really did care about you!' Stuff like that! Yeah!" Yamato's face crumpled again and he hiccupped.  
  
"...You're drunk."  
  
"I miss Soraaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Yamato whined.  
  
"No wonder you're acting so weird! You're plastered! You stopped at a bar on the way here, didn't you?!" Taichi was suddenly very turned off.  
  
"I just had a few drinks! I never get drunk!" Yamato pouted.  
  
"Hey, at least you're not having your period. I was wondering, with all the mood swings. No blood, right?"  
  
"My heart is bleeding!" Yamato stood suddenly, posing dramatically, pointing to the heavens with one outstretched arm. "Don't deny me of that, Sora! You can leave me, but you can never make me leave my emotions!" With that, Yamato hiccupped and fell over onto the couch, deep asleep.  
  
'Man, what the heck have I gotten myself into?' Taichi couldn't help but smile. "Not hard to tell you're an artist, is it?" he chuckled. "My heart is bleeding? Oh please... next thing I know you'll be writing shoujo theme songs." Taichi got his extra blanket and pillow and tucked Yamato in snugly on the couch, resisting the urge to give him a goodnight kiss.  
  
"Sweet dreams, drama queen."  
  
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That's chapter one I guess... ^_^;; Any repsonces and criticisms are really really wanted! ^_^ I do plan on going somewhere with this, don't worry. And yes, you're right, I'm having too much fun making fun of poor Yamato, but it's so easy! ^_^;; 


	2. Himawari

OK, chapter two. Do I know where I'm going with this? Not really, no. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough, tho! ^_^;; Yamato now has a part-time job at a video store to put himself through college. Why a video store? Because I work at Blockbuster and I have to find SOME way to insert the hatred I feel for work into my fics!  
  
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Chapter 2 - Himawari  
  
"HELLO?! Can I get some service here?" an angry voice called over the front desk.  
  
Yamato looked up from the piles of videos he was trying to sort, to see a short middle-aged woman glaring at him. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled as he walked to the counter. "You ready?"  
  
"Mommy! I want candyyyy!" the four-year-old-girl at the woman's side whined.  
  
"Fine, fine, get one for your brother too," the woman sighed, referring to the drooling baby she held in her left arm.  
  
Yamato wanted to say something about how these children were already spoiled rotten, and how if the woman didn't do something now they'd end up like her, but he kept his mouth shut. "Is that gonna be it?" he asked half- heartedly as he scanned down the pile of videos.  
  
"Yes, yes, and this." The woman handed over the candy and some popcorn.  
  
Yamato paused. The numbers weren't coming up right. "Oops..." he mumbled. "Wasn't paying attention. You had a late fee on here from..." he scanned down the long list of children's movies the woman had rented in the last three months. "...oh, on Crayon Shin-chan Volume Three."  
  
"No!" the woman practically yelled at him, shaking her head. "No, no, no! I turned that in THREE DAYS before it was due!"  
  
"...oh. Um, your history says you turned it in a day after--"  
  
"Well your computer is wrong then!"  
  
"...oh. Well, it's not. See, computers tend to remember things better than people so--"  
  
"Are you insulting me?!"  
  
"No, I'm just trying to explain that--"  
  
"I told you! I brought that in a full HOUR before it was due!"  
  
Yamato sighed. "I thought you said you brought it in three days ahead of time."  
  
"I did! Three days and one hour! It was raining and I was scared there would be a mudslide so I brought it in early!"  
  
"...Where exactly do you live?"  
  
"I live three blocks away! Why?"  
  
"It hasn't rained for two weeks."  
  
"I didn't say it rained! I said I thought it might!"  
  
Yamato suppressed a growl and credited the late fees off. "Fine, I took it off this time. Your total is $15.62." The woman tossed a credit card at him and, after the transaction went through, snatched her bag from his hands and sauntered out the door with her whiny children. "Ugh... that baby drooled all over the counter." Yamato pulled up the woman's account and left a warning on it:  
  
Watch credits, woman likes to blame late fees on mudslides.  
  
Also, be careful; her baby drools on everything.  
  
Sighing, he went back to sorting the returns.  
  
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It seemed all the birds in Tokyo were singing that Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful spring day, and no one should have been indoors! Taichi, however, disagreed with this policy, as the best singing perch in town was the tree outside his bedroom window. He rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. "Stupid birds," he mumbled. "Can't they tell I'm trying to sleep?" Giving up on more rest, he sat up in bed and stared blankly at the alarm clock. "Mmf... 1:00 in the afternoon? Too early to be awake. Should kill birds..." He got out of bed and stretched. "Oh yeah, Yamato came over last night. I should probably put some clothes on before going out there." Taichi grabbed his sweatpants sniffed them. "Eh, no smell; they're clean enough."  
  
The living room was sparkling. Somehow, Yamato had vacuumed, dusted, done the dishes, organized the bookshelf, and cut fresh flowers for the coffee table all before he had left. "Freak..." Taichi mumbled as he sat on the clean couch and stared at his now alphabetized dvd collection. "I wonder where he went--"  
  
Taichi wandered into the kitchen to get some breakfast, and was horrified that all his food seemed to be missing. "What the-- what did he do?!" Panicking that Yamato may have thrown out perfectly good leftover pizza, he looked in the refrigerator. Blinking a few times, he finally sorted out what he saw. There was food not only in the refrigerator, but wrapped in tinfoil. "Geez, it'll get all cold in there!" Taichi grabbed one of the triangular shaped tinfoil packages and rescued the pizza from inside, munching on it as he went back to the living room.  
  
Taped to the television was a note, written in perfect handwriting on light blue stationary.  
  
Taichi,  
  
I thought I'd clean up a bit before leaving for work since your place was getting sorta messy. I hope you don't mind. Thank you for letting me stay here last night. I wanted to stay and clean more as thanks, but I had to go to work to get my mind off things. Sorry about barging in. I don't remember much of what happened, I guess I was pretty drunk. Sorry if I was totally embarrassing. I'll call you later.  
  
Thanks,  
  
Yamato  
  
'Well, things will be interesting now,' Taichi thought to himself as he tossed the note on the coffee table and picked up the TV remote. 'Sora will probably be avoiding Yamato, and I'm sure she'll want to keep their apartment. Maybe he'll stay here for a while!' Taichi grinned a bit evilly for a moment and then sighed. 'Then again, even if he does I shouldn't do anything about it. He needs me to be a friend and cheer him up, not suddenly out myself and hit on him.'  
  
Getting up to pull his Playstation off from it's new perch on his entertainment system, he groaned. "Anyway, Yamato is the femme one! He's the one who carries girlie stationary around with him and cleans other people's houses! Why am I the one in the closet and he's the one with girls all over him?!" Taichi sat back down on the couch decisively, and tried to distract himself with the newest Final Fantasy game. 


	3. Ame no Ato Ni

OK, OK, (LOOK! LOOK, Yamato, I capitalized the stupid K in OK, are you happy now?! O.o) because Kylie pointed this out (thanks for editing this for me! thank your head Taichi and Yamato too! ^_^) I should make a note of this. I mention chai in this, you know, that really yummy off-white tea you mix with milk... anyway I hope you know what chai is, or you're a deprived person! Go get some! NOW! ...Anyway, in this Taichi doesn't know what chai is. I should mention that I have been told by a few Japanese friends of mine that they didn't know either, until they came here, much later. They said they're sure it's sold somewhere, but all the tea houses in Tokyo tend to only have traditional Japanese and occasionally Chinese teas, not silly Indian spice chai. ^_^;; Uhhhhh yeah. So that's the really long silly note for this chapter.  
  
Uhm... enjoy! ^_^  
  
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Chapter 3 - Ame no Ato Ni  
  
Drips of cold water ran down Taichi's neck, making him shiver. He hated the rain, and it was even worse when it was cold rain. There was a mist in the air, causing the traffic to move slowly as drivers did their best not to run into the cars in front of them. Taichi walked along the sidewalk downtown with a bright red umbrella in one hand. After spending a whole day cooped up inside, he had decided it was a good idea to go to a cafe and get some coffee. It was then that he noticed it had started to rain. After the idea of coffee entered his mind however, he couldn't forget it, so he grabbed his umbrella and trench coat and decided to brave the cold, wet weather.  
  
Shoppers ran along the sidewalk, splashing through puddles as they tried to cover their heads with their shopping bags and newspapers. Up ahead was the coffee shop, and Taichi hurried along to get inside the warm building. Finally reaching its glass doors, he pulled them open with his empty hand. After ordering a large cup of black coffee, he turned to find a place to sit. Most of the tables were already occupied with drenched customers, looking for warmth and a dry place to hide.  
  
"Taichi! Over here!" a voice yelled. He turned to see Sora sitting in the corner in a bright yellow rain jacket.  
  
'Greeeeat,' thought Taichi with a groan. 'Just who I don't want to see right now.' He walked over to Sora's table and sat down across from her. He took a long drink of his coffee, sat the mug carefully on the table, and then looked at Sora with a skeptical expression.  
  
"What's up?" Sora asked, sweatdropping.  
  
"Gee, I dunno. Why don't you tell me?"  
  
Sora sighed. "I knew he would end up staying with you. Did he tell you what happened?"  
  
"He was a drunk, blubbering mess. He said you said he drives you crazy and you don't want to be with him anymore. After that, he fell asleep."  
  
Hanging her head, Sora chuckled a bit. "He's such a drama queen." Taichi scowled at Sora's casual attitude, but kept his mouth shut. "He needs to calm down, that's all."  
  
"What do you mean, 'calm down'? You broke his heart!"  
  
"No, I didn't," Sora stated very simply. "You can't break someone's heart if they don't love you." She looked out the window and sighed. "And he doesn't love me. He loves the attention I give him, and he loves that I care for him, but he doesn't love me."  
  
"...oh." Taichi was very confused. "Isn't that the same thing?"  
  
Sora laughed. "No wonder you've never had a real girlfriend! No, no, he's a lonely person. I think that's why I liked him so much. I'm a caretaker--I have this instinct to like people who need babying; people who are lonely and pathetic. He likes that I care for him, but he'd like that from anyone. He doesn't feel anything deeper for me than friendship."  
  
"I don't believe you." If that was true, then why had Yamato been so upset last night?  
  
Sora turned and stared Taichi in the eyes with a totally serious expression. "You don't believe me? We haven't had sex in over three months."  
  
Taichi twitched involuntarily. The two of them going at it was not something he wanted to think about. Still, three months? "That's a really long time," was all he could say without showing the disgust he felt.  
  
"It confused me for a long time, but then I figured it out." She took a sip of the odd off-white liquid she was drinking.  
  
"Sorry but I have to ask, what the heck is that?" Taichi pointed to the cup.  
  
"Oh, this? Chai. It's Indian I think." She paused. "Anyway, I figured out what the problem was. He doesn't love me. Yamato is a very," she blushed, "passionate person. He writes music, he loves art and good food, and he loves sex. He hides it well, but anything that involves passion attracts him. That's why he listens to opera," she wrinkled her nose.  
  
Taichi sighed. There was so little that he knew about Yamato, really. He didn't know he liked opera, he didn't know he liked art, and he certainly didn't know he liked sex. He blushed. "So, you think he was just looking for warmth and love from you."  
  
"Yep." Sora nodded.  
  
"What about you? Don't you love him?"  
  
Blushing, she smiled softly. "I thought I did. Maybe not; I was so young. We moved in together too quickly. What I felt for him was what you feel for a lost puppy. It's cute and fun to snuggle, but when you take it home and it pees on the floor, barks all night, and chews the furniture, you wish you would have gotten one that was better trained, you know?"  
  
Taichi blinked. "Yamato pees on the floor?"  
  
"No, baka!" She smacked him on the head. "What I mean is, he's cute and huggable, but when you come down to it he knows nothing about being in a relationship, or even how to love someone! I'm just not the right person to teach him those things. I need a guy who knows how to spoil me as much as I spoil him. I want to be someone's lover, not someone's therapist!"  
  
Taichi couldn't help but laugh at the image of Sora being anyone's 'lover', but he stopped as soon as he saw the glare on her face.  
  
"I tried to be kind. We've talked about this before, but he promised he'd change. I just didn't want to hurt him. Finally, last night, I had to let him go. I packed a bag for him, and let him know how I felt. It was really hard," she said softly, "when he started to cry." She shook her head, and sat up straight in her chair. "But I know I did the right thing! We'll both be happier this way!"  
  
Taichi thought about all of this for a minute, and finished his coffee. "So... what you're saying is-- it's over? Really over?"  
  
"I know Yamato probably can't stand it, but it is." Sora stood and pulled the hood on her raincoat over her head. "Tell him he can come and pick up his things tomorrow. I already packed them for him, so it won't be much work." Sighing, she turned and began to walk towards the door. "Take good care of him, Taichi."  
  
He watched Sora leave, confused. "What does that mean, take care of him?" Taichi blushed. "Of course I will." He looked down at his watch and jumped up. "Oh man, Yamato is probably getting off work now, and I know he doesn't have an umbrella with him."  
  
In spite of thinking this, Taichi only just remembered the thing as he ran out into the rain. He ran five blocks down the main street, and after turning down a side street, ran another four blocks to where the video store was. He stopped a few meters in front of the store.  
  
Yamato was standing there in the rain, looking as if he was going to cry. He was drenched to the bone, and shivering from the cold. When he locked the store up for the night, he was going to go home, but then he realised that he didn't have one. This realization had made him stop dead in his tracks, not knowing where to go. He really didn't want to bother Taichi again, and he hadn't made contact with the other male chosen children in so long that it would be rude to show up and ask for free room and board. His band members lived with their parents or on school campus, so there was really nowhere for him to go. He looked up to see a figure walking towards him.  
  
"Sorry, we're closed." Yamato turned to walk away, to where he didn't know.  
  
The figure laughed and came closer. There stood Taichi with his trademarked smile. "Don't worry, I'm not an angry customer." He held out his umbrella for Yamato. "Your note said you'd call. When you didn't, I was a bit worried you were going to try something stupid, like staying at someone else's house!"  
  
Yamato couldn't help but grin, and he stepped under the umbrella with Taichi. "I didn't want to bother you."  
  
"Baka! You're my best friend. If you're in need, I'm here to help." The two stared at each other and an awkward silence came over them. Yamato tried to blink away his tears, and Taichi couldn't help but stare into those deep blue pools, wanting nothing more than to hug him and tell him it would all be okay. "Anyway, if you're staying with me, it'll be like having a free cook and maid in one!" he laughed, breaking the silence. "Aren't you cold?" Taichi asked, looking pointedly at Yamato's black t-shirt and khaki shorts he was forced to wear for work.  
  
"It's okay," Yamato muttered, trying not to shiver too much.  
  
"Oh, no it's not. You're such a baby about the cold, you might freeze to death." Taichi handed the umbrella to Yamato, and took his trench coat off. "I'll be fine. If you die under my watch, your brother would never forgive me!" He grinned and wrapped his coat around Yamato's shoulders. The black heavy material fell around Yamato's petite body loosely, almost dragging on the ground. "Let's go home now, I'm hungry." Taichi took the umbrella back, and the pair walked back towards their apartment. 


	4. Moving Out

Chapter 4 is finally done! YAY! Warning: I was really into angst tonight for some reason, so it's kinda dark... but don't worry! Things will lighten up soon! ^_^;; And yes I know I'm putting Yamato through a lot but... things will be better! ...Oh, no, wait, that's a lie. Things will be worse soon actually. So uh, sorry Yama-chan! ^_^;;  
  
  
  
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Chapter 4 - Moving Out  
  
"Moving day is a very dangerous day," Taichi stated, as he stared bleakly at the piles of boxes waiting to be taken to their new home. "Seems we have a full evening of manual labor ahead of us."  
  
Yamato slowly walked into the living room of the place he had once called 'home'. "It shouldn't be too bad. I don't own much, really. It's just clothes and music stuff, the boxes should be light."  
  
"Geez, you must own a lot of clothes."  
  
"Eh..." Yamato mumbled and went back to moping. "Look, I told you that you didn't need to come along, so don't complain."  
  
"Hey, hey! No fighting allowed, ok? Anyway, I got an excuse to get off work early!" '...and if I didn't come along, you would've sat here crying for hours, not moving a thing.'  
  
Sighing, the boys rolled up their sleeves and began lifting boxes. Luckily, Sora's apartment was on the first floor so it wasn't a very long walk to the car they had borrowed from Taichi's father. After twenty minutes, they had all the boxes packed into the car.  
  
"How do you know she's packing all of your things, anyway? I mean, what about the mutual possessions? Don't you want the TV or the microwave or anything?" Taichi asked, looking around at all of the things Yamato would be leaving for the girl that had hurt him so badly.  
  
"No, it doesn't matter. Anyway, her job pays more since she works full time. She paid for most of this stuff. All I want are the things I brought when I moved in with her. I don't need anything to remind me..." Yamato trailed off and sighed. "Could you wait outside? I need a minute alone."  
  
"Sure, ok. I'll be in the car." Taichi reluctantly left the apartment, closing the door behind him.  
  
Walking through his former home, he now let his memories come flooding back. There in the corner was the place Sora had burned the carpet trying to light candles for a 'romantic evening' together. There was the couch where they had held each other, albeit awkwardly, on those long nights together. There, in the kitchen, where he had tried to teach her to cook pancakes, and she had failed miserably.  
  
Slowly, Yamato opened the door to the bedroom, and stepped inside. The lights were off, and the heavy curtains they had got so that Sora could sleep in without the sun bothering her, were blocking out all light. The bed was perfectly made, and the clothes hamper was only half full, as now it held only one person's clothing. Yamato thought of the endless fights that had taken place in this room. The endless bickering, and how he had felt like he could never make her happy. Then there was one memory that he could never let go of, one that he wished he could forget forever; the last time they had made love.  
  
"Fucked, is more like it. The last time she fucked me." He shuddered. "I just wanted to be left alone, but no, she wanted sex right then and there. She whined and begged, saying how sexy I was." Yamato's hands were balling up into fists now, and he started yelling to no one in particular. "Well I never wanted her! Not once! All those times, I was just there physically! I just did it to make her happy, and look what she does to me!" He kicked over the lamp, and watched it fall to the floor, its light bulb shattering. "All she says is 'But we're not happy together!" he whined, in a high pitched impression of Sora's voice. "You'll be happier without me! You never want to make love! You never want to go out! All you do is work and go to school! I need some attention too!'"  
  
Calmly, Yamato picked the lamp up, and put it back in its place. "You're wrong, Sora. You're wrong about everything." Sighing, he turned and exited the room. "Guess I'm on my own from now on."  
  
Taichi ran back outside as Yamato exited the bedroom. He had come back in for a drink of water, and had heard every word his angry friend had said. Now, more than ever, he wanted to tell Yamato, but he knew he couldn't. He controlled himself, as always, and waited in the car, by himself.  
  
  
  
***  
  
"Damn, I'm covered in sweat," Yamato grumbled. "I hate manual labor."  
  
"Oh please, you hardly moved anything!" Taichi said, bringing the last box into the living room. "I moved all the big, heavy stuff! And by the way, your clothing collection scares me even more because it is NOT light! Either you have VERY heavy shirts, or you wear a lot of stuff made of leather."  
  
Yamato rolled his eyes. "You're being overdramatic."  
  
"Yes, well, I have to make you appreciate all my hard work!" Taichi stated, disappointed at the lack of comment about the leather.  
  
Yamato bowed deeply. "Thank you so much you are my knight in shining armor."  
  
"Ooh, does that make you a damsel? Doesn't the knight get a kiss for his valiant efforts?" Taichi asked, smirking.  
  
"Err, no," Yamato stared blankly at Taichi, not sure if that was a dumb joke, or what. "But I will make you pancakes for breakfast!"  
  
Sighing inwardly, Taichi forced a smile. "Ooh, pancakes, yum..."  
  
"I have a question, though," Yamato said slowly. "I really don't want to be sleeping on your couch, and you have only one bedroom and one bed."  
  
"Yeah..." Taichi said slowly, hoping Yamato would suggest something kinky.  
  
"Well, where am I going to sleep? I mean, I guess I'm gonna be living with you for a while now, so..."  
  
"Oh, well my bed is big," he stated calmly.  
  
Yamato froze like a deer in headlights. "You're joking, right?"  
  
"But that's where you would sleep when we had sleepovers!"  
  
"When we were twelve! Taichi, I want my own bed. I would love my own *room*, although that isn't going to happen." He looked around the room slowly. "Actually, when the lease comes up, we could just get a bigger apartment."  
  
'They're all right. Let a woman move in with you and she wants to change everything,' Taichi thought to himself. "No, uh... I have an old futon we can set up for you. It'll be on the floor and all, and this place isn't exactly designed like a traditional Japanese house, but..."  
  
"Oh, that's fine. Futons are comfortable anyway. We can just roll it out on the floor at night. That way we won't crowd the entrance too much."  
  
Taichi shrugged. "I dunno, I always left it out all day. It's too much of a pain to put away every morning."  
  
Yamato rolled his eyes again. "Really, it's ok. I don't mind. Anyway, I'm going to go take a bath. I'm sweaty and I stink."  
  
"Need any help?" Taichi asked, grinning ear to ear.  
  
"Uhhh... you know, it would be really nice if you would stop that."  
  
"Stop what?"  
  
"Stop making fun of me."  
  
"I'm not making fun of you!"  
  
"Well it sure seems like it!" Yamato was getting angry now.  
  
"I'm really not! I'm just..."  
  
"You're just what?!"  
  
"...Never mind. I'll stop. I'm sorry." Taichi hung his head. It looked like the upfront flirting approach wasn't going to work.  
  
"Fine." Yamato paused. "Sorry, I'm just a little sensitive right now. I know you're just joking around, but please don't do it in that way, OK?" With that, Yamato headed off to the bathroom, and Taichi was left alone, to unpack and sulk. 


	5. Proverbial Closet Cleaning

Wheeeeeeeee this was SO quick to write since it's all diologue! I hope I got across the moods of the characters well! I'm picturing very specific expressions and moods but it's hard to convey. Lemme know what you think!  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 - Proverbial Closet Cleaning  
  
  
  
"Almost done, almost done," Taichi mumbled to himself. He had just gotten a garage kit from Koushirou for a birthday present and he was irritated at the skill involved in putting the damned thing together. "Glue, come on, glue faster," he growled as he strained to hold a joint together as the glue dried. The slightest movement would part the two small pieces of plastic and force him to start all over. Then, the phone rang. "GAH!" He jumped, dropping the model onto the floor, and watched as it fell into pieces. "DAMN YOU!" He kicked the model across the room and ran to the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Well, you sound cheerful," Sora's voice answered him.  
  
"For your information, your dumb call screwed up my model! It was a cool mecha, too!"  
  
Sora laughed. "Taichi, you do NOT have enough patience to do those kind of things, wether or not my calls interrupt you."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. So, what's up?"  
  
"Well," she paused. "I was wondering how Yamato-kun was doing."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"...So?"  
  
"You... want me to go check on him?"  
  
"How is he in general?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Doesn't he still live there?"  
  
"Well... yes, but he's sort of acting scary lately."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Let me give you an example. I'll go see what he's doing now." Taichi wandered down the hall to the bedroom and cracked the door open slowly, peering inside. His eyes widened and he quickly closed the door and ran back to the couch.  
  
"What's he doing?"  
  
"Well, he's sitting on the floor of the bedroom in the dark, staring at the wall."  
  
"...oh."  
  
"Yeah, and he's listening to some weird music."  
  
"It's called 'blues', Taichi," a voice stated calmly from behind the couch.  
  
"GAH!" Taichi jumped up. "What are you doing out here?!" he asked, panicking.  
  
Yamato smiled perkily. "Getting a drink." He wandered to the kitchen.  
  
"He's getting a drink, apparantly," Taichi mumbled into the phone. A moment later, Yamato wandered out of the kitchen with three bottles of sake.  
  
"Who are you talking to?"  
  
"Uh... NO ONE! Why?! What's it to you?!"  
  
"...Whatever." Yamato smiled far too happily and went back to the bedroom.  
  
"His voice sounds ok!" Sora said cheerfully.  
  
"His drink..." Taichi stated slowly, "...was three bottles of sake. Three... full... bottles."  
  
"...Ah. I guess that means he's not doing so well."  
  
"No, no he isn't."  
  
"I was worried about this. It has been a month, I was hoping he would be doing better."  
  
"No, he's actually getting worse, and scarier."  
  
"I'd better talk to him, then."  
  
"I don't think he's ready to see you right now."  
  
"I'll be over in fifteen minutes, OK?" Sora answered cheerfully, and hung up.  
  
***  
  
It had been two hours since Sora had come over. She had immediately presented Taichi with a gift card to his favorite sports' store and congratulated him on his birthday. Afterwards, she had gone to the bedroom, opened the door without knocking, and closed it behind her. Taichi had tried to amuse himself with talk shows, playing music, and making microwave popcorn. However, the talk shows were all talking about how horrible it is to be a woman, he couldn't find his favorite CD, and he burned the popcorn so badly he was afraid he had broken the microwave. So, he had decided the best thing to do was sit on the floor outside the bedroom door and try to listen to what was going on.  
  
He couldn't hear a thing. "Damn Sora for talking so quietly. She knows I'm out here trying to listen," Taichi mumbled and went to get a glass to listen through, having remembered seeing people do that in detective movies.  
  
Then, the door opened. Sora walked out, looking cheerful, followed by Yamato, who looked shocked. "Ja ne, Taichi!" she waved as she walked out the door.  
  
"So uh, what happened?" Taichi approached Yamato.  
  
"Uh, nothing! Nothing happened!"  
  
"Ooooookay. Nothing happened. For two hours, nothing happened."  
  
"She had a lot to say."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"She's such a bitch."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"Damn femmenazi." With that, Yamato calmly put the still full bottles of sake back into the cabinet. "What was I thinking?" He chuckled. "Over her? What's wrong with me?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"You know, I should have realised earlier."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"YOU know!"  
  
"I do...?"  
  
"About Sora!"  
  
"Yes... I mean... huh?"  
  
"Well, how she's bisexual!"  
  
Taichi's jaw dropped.  
  
"I mean, of all people you should have noticed." Yamato glared.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you're... you know."  
  
"If you're going to say 'perceptive' then I'll know you're lying." Taichi had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was Yamato hinting at?  
  
"No, no." He leaned forward and stared at Taichi carefully, apparantly examining his expression. "YOU know."  
  
"Damn it, stop being such a girl! Spit it out!"  
  
"HEY! What the hell do you mean?!"  
  
"You're as bad as a girl! Stop hinting and expecting for me to know what you're talking about! Just TELL me!"  
  
"I am NOT a girl!"  
  
"I never said you were!"  
  
"At least I know what you think of me now!"  
  
"Come on, I didn't mean-" Taichi sweatdropped. Yamato was so touchy about these kinds of things.  
  
"Well if I'm so femme then at least I know you won't be hitting on me!"  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Well you just should have TOLD me, that's all!" Yamato yelled angrily.  
  
"Told you WHAT?!"  
  
"That you're GAY!"  
  
Taichi felt his heart skip a beat. "Wha...?" was all he could get out.  
  
"Come on, I should have figured it out a long time ago. I guess you just trust Sora more than me!"  
  
"I never said anything to her!"  
  
"Well I guess you can smell your own kind!"  
  
"What does THAT mean?!"  
  
Yamato sighed. "I know, Taichi. Stop denying it."  
  
"I'm not denying anything!"  
  
"You're just not answering me."  
  
"I'm very good at avoiding subjects." Taichi laughed nervously.  
  
"Well, now that I know, you can stop hiding it."  
  
"...oh."  
  
"Come on, say something." Yamato looked suddenly very nervous.  
  
"OK, I'm... I'm gay." Taichi said quickly, averting his eyes.  
  
"And...?"  
  
"And nothing! I'm gay! I have been since I can remember! I just don't like girls. They're too moody and bitchy and... and... and I'm gay." Taichi felt a surge of relief. Hiding it for all those years had been much more of a strain on him than he had thought. Even though it was forced, coming out was sort of nice.  
  
"...OK," Yamato said skeptically. "Well uh, does this change anything?"  
  
"I don't know. Does it?"  
  
"I guess not... it's not like I have anywhere else to go. And you've been gay... the whole time?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then I shouldn't suddenly be scared of you, I guess." Yamato sighed. "Anyway, it's not like I don't know other gay guys," he said. Taichi nodded; everybody knew about Yutaka.  
  
"...Yeah."  
  
"OK, well I was going to go to sleep so, uh... try not to wake me up." Yamato's face had reverted back to its depressed expression. "Goodnight."  
  
"Night." Taichi sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the phone on the wall. "Damn that Sora. What the hell is going on?! She's bisexual? I guess that's not such a shock. Then again, that might just be a fad for her. Who knows with her? I hope whatever she said to Yamato helped, though." He laid his head on the table and proceeded to fall asleep. 


	6. Always on the Wrong Track

Wow. I got Microsoft Word! WOOT! I can spellcheck now! O.o Amazing. Angst. Lots of angst. Veritable PUDDLES of angst. But it's cute, so that's okay. ^_^;;  
  
Chapter 6 - Always on the Wrong Track  
  
Downing more coffee, Taichi scowled. "Sora is an evil bitch," he stated. "It's just a fact."  
  
"Back up, back up!" Koushirou laughed and sat down next to his bitter friend. After he moved back to Tokyo from England, he had quickly reunited with his old childhood friends. Taichi had matured quite a bit, was no longer so hyper, and had even gotten into computers. The two of them worked in the same business district and regularly had lunch together, laughing about the evil companies they worked for. Eventually, they began talking about their private lives, and Koushirou's boyfriend was soon a topic of conversation. Taichi was initially a little shocked at his friend's bisexuality, but he soon opened up as well. Although Koushirou and his boyfriend quickly separated, he was still the only person Taichi had to talk with about his 'little secret'.  
  
"Well, Sora came over last night," Taichi practically growled. "She just sauntered in and went in MY bedroom with Yamato for hours to talk."  
  
"Well, at least you're not jealous." Koushirou smirked.  
  
Ignoring him, Taichi continued, "After that, Yamato confronted me."  
  
Koushirou stared. "He knows you're in love with him?!"  
  
"I... I'm not in love with him! It's just a crush!" Taichi stuttered. "Anyway, she just told him I'm gay."  
  
"Oh... she knew?"  
  
"I never told her...I don't know how she found out."  
  
"Well, probably because you're so obvious. The only person that didn't know is probably Yamato, because he's so dense with things like this!" Koushirou laughed again. "Anyway, you only THINK you're in the closet. Really, you're more of a flamer than me!"  
  
"Oh, really? That's debatable." Taichi pointedly stared at the other boy's pink socks. "Hey, Mimi got these for me, OK?"  
  
Taichi rolled his eyes. "Haven't done laundry in weeks, have you? Getting desperate?"  
  
Hanging his head, Koushirou sweatdropped. "Yeah, my other ones are all dirty."  
  
"ANYway, the point is that I don't know what to do now!"  
  
"Uh, what do you mean?"  
  
"Well, it's weird. Yamato knows, and I think it's going to make things really uncomfortable. He'll never love me."  
  
"Yeah, probably." Koushirou nodded.  
  
"Gee, thanks."  
  
"You know what you need? A strong drink. Perhaps MANY strong drinks. I'm going down to the pub later, wanna come?"  
  
Taichi wrinkled his nose at the thought. "The 'pub' huh? British wannabe. This wouldn't happen to be the GAY 'pub' would it?"  
  
Koushirou shrugged. "It's sorta both. Lots of girls hang out there, too."  
  
Hanging his head in defeat, Taichi stood to go back to work. "I guess I do need something to do. I don't want to go home and deal with Yamato sober. Fine, I'll meet you outside your building at 5:30 OK?"  
  
"Sure, have fun at work."  
  
"Oh yeah, great fun."  
  
***  
  
"Whoa, Taichi!" A young man stood up from the table he was sitting at and waved at the two men entering the bar. "Come sit here!"  
  
"Oh man, this guy?" Taichi was ready to leave and he had just gotten there. He remembered now why he had only ever been here a few times before- and why he had decided to never come back.  
  
Koushirou sweatdropped. "Yeah, he's always here. Anyway, he's nice enough."  
  
"You have loser friends." Taichi shook his head.  
  
"Hi, Hiroshi." Koushirou mumbled as the two joined the odd-looking man at his table. The 'club' was essentially a bar, not one of those weird rave places with strobe lights that gave everyone headaches. No one here really danced. The decor was pretty simple, the walls were black, the tables were black, the bar was black. Everything was... black. This gave the room a sort of elegant decor, if not boring. The lights were tinted blue, giving everything an odd glow, and the bartender was a weird guy. He was wearing a plaid shirt resembling a lumberjack's, and had a handlebar mustache. There were a few women sitting at the bar, or at least you would assume they were women. Mainly there were men sitting around, playing cards, drinking, and generally making way too much noise.  
  
Hiroshi on the other hand, was sitting at his table all alone, obviously waiting for someone who would tolerate him to come to the bar. Koushirou was staring at his T-shirt that stated, 'Hot Communication'. "Where do you GET these shirts?" Koushirou asked. Hiroshi tended to wear things with strange 'engrish' phrases on them.  
  
"This? Oh! I just got it at the 'Crazy Party Wild!' store."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Never mind, it's nothing." Koushirou hung his head. Ever since learning English he had realized how silly pretty much every 'cool' word they used here in Japan was just stupid.  
  
"So, Taichi, I haven't seen you here in a while." Hiroshi grinned and placed his hand on Taichi's.  
  
"Uh, yeah. I'm not really into bars." Taichi yanked his hand away.  
  
"Oooh, touchy!" Hiroshi giggled. He was already pretty tipsy.  
  
"Well, he's having trouble with his roommate." Koushirou stated simply as he stood to go order some beer. "I'm trying to get him to loosen up a bit!"  
  
"Oh, boyfriend trouble, dear?" Hiroshi flirted way too much for Taichi's tastes.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend."  
  
"Oh so that's the trouble!" Hiroshi giggled again. Taichi wanted to punch him. It was just stupid to be such a flamer! He couldn't stand guys like this, they just made people think that that's what all gay men were like.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Whatever." Taichi took the glass that Koushirou handed him and downed half of it in two gulps. "More," he mumbled, and grabbed the pitcher.  
  
"Well, you know, there's a new guy over there." Hiroshi pointed over to the corner. "You should go make friends!"  
  
"Hmmm..." Taichi eyed the man sitting alone at the back most table. He had shoulder length black hair, was lean and muscular, and was wearing leather, all leather. The mysterious man looked over and caught Taichi's eye, and smiled. "Well, I might just do that."  
  
"Whoa, Taichi's actually approaching someone! Go for it!" Koushirou grinned, already totally drunk.  
  
"Lightweight," Taichi rolled his eyes, and downed another mug of beer.  
  
"Well, you haven't gotten laid in what, a few years?!" Koushirou slurred.  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"You must really need a good fuck!" Hiroshi laughed. "Go get 'em!"  
  
Taichi sweatdropped and proceeded to walk away from the freaks he decided to never drink with again. He knew already that this guy wasn't his type. That didn't matter now, though. He just wanted to see if he could get laid, and this seemed to be the only guy here interested in a quick fuck. Anyway, beer goggles are amazing things. As he approached the stranger, the man stood and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Zeusu."  
  
"Why, hello, Zeusu. I'm Taichi." He smiled his best suave smile and seated himself beside the handsome young man. "So, new here?"  
  
"Yeah, I usually just go to the gay bars, but I figured I'd try something a little simpler tonight. Unfortunately, no one here is interested in having any fun." Zeusu grinned slyly.  
  
Taichi pulled his chair closer to the other man. 'Damn Sora, damn Yamato, damn them all! I need to get laid! I don't CARE if it's some guy I barely know! I'm getting laid tonight no matter what! ...but I probably should get more drunk first.' "Hey, could we get another pitcher over here?" Taichi called to the bartender. "I'll pay."  
  
Zeusu raised an eyebrow, "Why, thank you sir."  
  
"Oh, my pleasure. So you work around here?"  
  
"Yeah, generic businessman, that's me."  
  
"Aren't we all?" Taichi downed some more beer. "So, what was that about having fun?"  
  
"Well, we could go somewhere. I live really close..." Zeusu leaned forward until Taichi could feel his breath on his neck.  
  
"I don't think I had anything else planned for tonight!" Taichi winced at the lameness of his comments, but it was hard to be suave with some guy he barely knew, especially when he was drunk.  
  
It was a bit cool outside, and the moon was full. The two walked down the crowded street, towards where Zeusu lived. "It's a bit far for walking, but I don't think we'll get a cab with it this crowded out here," Zeusu muttered, obviously not interested in waiting very long.  
  
"Well, it's a nice night, isn't it?" Taichi grinned and the two ran into the alleyway behind a club. Taichi ran his hands up underneath Zeusu's leather jacket, feeling the other man's muscular torso, and found his nipples, pinching them lightly.  
  
Zeusu moaned lightly at Taichi's touch, and leaned forward, capturing Taichi's lips in his own, the two pressed up against each other, and Taichi let his hands fall on Zeusu's ass, squeezing it lightly. It was then that the back alley door opened and a light from inside the building shone directly on the pair. They froze like deer in headlights.  
  
"Man, that rocked! We were awesome!" A young man with long hair stumbled out of the club, followed by three others. "With gigs like this, we'll get known nationally in no time!"  
  
"I think you're being just a tad bit overly optimistic," a familiar voice stated. "Anyway, we were pretty good, but I think we need to practice that third song a little more."  
  
"Oh come on, practicing is all you think about!" The long haired guy stopped in his tracks and stared at what was in front of him. "Ooooooooh naughty fun! Can I join in?" The man laughed, and was pushed aside by his bandmates, looking to see what was going on.  
  
Amongst the cat calls and the 'get a room's, Taichi made out the familiar voice again. Quickly, he pulled away from Zeusu, who ran off, "See you later, beautiful!" he called. Taichi winced at the name, he didn't even know what he was doing, he hated guys like that. 'I must be more desperate than I thought.'  
  
"Interrupting, are we?" the voice asked, bitterly. The three older men moved aside, to reveal Acid Yamato standing in the doorway, with a look that could kill.  
  
"Uh, hi Yamato!" Taichi stated cheerfully. "I didn't know you had a gig tonight!"  
  
"Yes, you would have if you had gone home and seen the note I left. I guess you were a bit busy." Yamato walked slowly forward, towards the frightened Taichi.  
  
"Oh come on! It's not a big deal!" Taichi sweatdropped.  
  
Trembling, Yamato handed his bass to the man standing next to him. Slowly, he raised his hand. Then, quickly, he slapped Taichi across the face. Yamato couldn't remember the last time he had been so furious with someone.  
  
"Wha-" Taichi stared. The two hadn't been in a fight since they were kids, but the feeling of Yamato's slap was familiar still. "What the hell was that for?!"  
  
"Oooooooooh lover's quarrel!" the guys in the band teased. "Come now, Yamato! Jealous women NEVER get the man!"  
  
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Yamato screamed at them. Turning back to Taichi, he stated as calmly as he could, "I am not interested at all in why you're making out with some guy you probably don't even KNOW, in an alley. I'm not even going to ask if you're drunk, because it's pretty obvious that you are. I'm going home. Have fun finding a way there." With that, Yamato turned and walked away. Taichi sighed deeply and turned back, only to find Koushirou leaving the bar they had been in earlier.  
  
"Hey, Koushirou!" Taichi called. The red head turned and stumbled a bit.  
  
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii Taichi! I thought you were gonna get laid!" Koushirou said happily.  
  
"Uh, yeah well, not my type." Taichi muttered. "Mind if I stay at your place tonight?"  
  
"Still scared of Yamato, huh? Yeah, sure. I've got an empty couch." The two boys wandered off to Koushirou's apartment, Taichi kicking himself mentally all the way.  
  
***  
  
The phone was ringing. Damn the phone. "Stop ringing!!!" Taichi yelled, covering his head with a couch pillow, trying to block the sound out from his poor throbbing head.  
  
"I've got it," Koushirou mumbled. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, have you seen Taichi?" Yamato asked, sounding sort of panicked on the other line.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"I found him behind the club I was at last night making out with this guy, can you believe that?!"  
  
"Oh, well-"  
  
"So we had a fight and I told him to find his own way home and he hasn't been home all night! He was really drunk, I'm worried something might have happened to him!"  
  
"Ah-"  
  
"So I know you guys see each other for lunch, so maybe he called you or something?"  
  
"Well-"  
  
"So have you heard from him or not?!"  
  
"Yamato, SHUT UP! I've got a hangover and I'm NOT up to listening to your panic attack!" Koushirou sighed. "It's your worried wife on the phone," he said just loudly enough for Yamato to hear, handing the phone to Taichi.  
  
"Mmmmf, wha?" Taichi mumbled into the receiver.  
  
"Where the hell have you been?! Your boss called, he wanted to know why you never showed up for work! You didn't come home all night! I was really worried!"  
  
"...Yamato, you slapped me last night. I wasn't in the mood to deal with your angst."  
  
"I do NOT angst!"  
  
"Whatever." Taichi groaned, he wasn't going to get ANY more sleep today.  
  
"I was just upset!"  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"Well, because you're my friend! And having sex with random guys isn't healthy!" Yamato said, not quite sounding convincing.  
  
"Gee, thanks for caring enough to leave me there. Anyway, I was out drinking with Koushirou, I stayed here. I'm fine." Taichi was becoming a bit amused with the situation. It would have been much funnier if he had a bit of Tylenol in his system.  
  
"...you didn't um..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well, Koushirou..."  
  
"Yeah, he's here, did you want to talk to him or something?" Taichi blinked audibly.  
  
"You didn't... do anything with him did you?" the voice on the other end was suddenly very quiet and unsure sounding.  
  
Taichi laughed so hard his stomach hurt. "Are you KIDDING?! Hey! Koushirou!" the red head wandered out of the bathroom with a giant bottle of Tylenol and glared at Taichi.  
  
"Quiet down. What is it?"  
  
"Yamato thinks we fucked!"  
  
Koushirou shook his head and mumbled to himself. "Note to self: never ever get involved in other people's love lives. It's a bad, bad idea."  
  
"Yamato, I promise I NEVER would do ANYTHING with Koushirou... uh, no offense..."  
  
"None taken." Koushirou wandered back down the hall. "I'm going back to sleep, stay, leave, I don't care. Must... sleep... more..."  
  
"You there, Yamato?"  
  
"...you don't have to laugh at me." Yamato's voice sounded shaky.  
  
"I'm not laughing at you!"  
  
"...OK. Well, just come home. And call your boss, he's pretty pissed."  
  
Taichi sighed. "Yeah, I'll be home in an hour or so."  
  
Yamato sat the phone back on the hook, and went to do the dishes. Only, he had already done them all. He went into the bedroom but there was nothing to clean there either. He sat down on the couch with his guitar and began strumming, and mumbling to himself.  
  
"What the hell does he think he's doing making me worry like that?!" Yamato sighed. "Why am I so worried, anyway? I mean if he wants to have sex with random guys, that's his decision! I don't care! Why should I care?! Stupid jerk!" Yamato sighed again. "I don't get it. And here I was up all night, worrying about him. Insensitive, stupid, mean... he doesn't deserve me anyway! I mean... as a friend." Yamato muttered. "I'm not making any sense." He put his guitar on the floor and lay down across the couch. "Maybe I'll just rest here a little."  
  
***  
  
Taichi came in the apartment and hung his coat up in the closet. Guilt was heavy on his shoulders. 'Not like we're actually together or anything. I shouldn't feel so guilty. It's none of his business, anyway.' He walked into the living room to see something beautiful. Yamato was sprawled on the couch, deep asleep. His blonde hair was in his face, and his shirt was bunched up above his stomach, showing off his soft, pale skin. Taichi grinned slightly, and sat on the chair next to Yamato's still body. 'Years and years of holding out just for you, and I almost gave in last night,' he thought to himself. "I'm an idiot, you know that? I'm going to be a lonely old man." Frowning, Taichi reached over, and gently brushed Yamato's bangs out of his face. "I promise I'll hold out. Just in case," he whispered, and leaned forward, gently placing a kiss on Yamato's forehead. 


	7. Birthday Wishes

HAH! This chapter is officially edited and made gramatically correct (according to my '94 Microsoft Word, anyway. ^_^;;).  
  
On another note (as I still have to meet the required 'author giving way too much personal info' quota) I had a REALLY crappy day. So all the work angst happening to Yamato is, in fact, stuff that happened to me more or less. I *will* use this story as therapy from my crappy job. ^_^;; Sorry if that's irritating.  
  
For translation notes, see the bottom.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter 7 - Birthday Wishes  
  
"So, that is why we think that you would be inappropriate as a manager, Yamato-kun. I'm sorry, but we have other people who are more interested in the position. You just have too many other things going on in your life to really devote your attention to this," the strange woman said. Yamato stared at her blankly. He hated his manager. He hated her short, curly, dark blue hair. He hated her huge, ugly glasses that made her eyes seem to bulge out. He hated how she treated him like a stupid, lazy kid even though he worked his ass off at this job.  
  
"Uh huh," Yamato said in a monotone voice.  
  
"So, please go back to work." She turned back to her paperwork.  
  
Sighing, Yamato stood and went back to the front of the store. He really wasn't happy. Although he had been there for almost a year, some new guy was getting the manager position that had opened up. At one point his manager had even begun to train him, but had someone who hated him do the training. Therefore, he was turned down. Again. Reaching the counter, Yamato called the next customer over.  
  
"Hello, how are you?" The irritatingly cheerful customer asked him. He just stared at her blankly. "Oh, one of those days, is it? Oh well, you'll be fine, I'm sure. It's my daughter's birthday today, so I was wondering if you had any gift cards."  
  
Continuing to stare at her blankly, Yamato raised his hand and pointed to the huge, obvious gift card display directly behind the customer.  
  
"Oh! Oh my! There they are!" she chortled.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Yes, well, I'd better hurry! The party is going to be in just a few hours and we've got about twenty ten year old little girls coming over!"  
  
"Birthday..." Yamato mumbled.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Oh, nothing." He finished the transaction and wished her luck, bitterly. "Twenty ten year old little girls? She must be crazy. Still... I can't help but feel like I've forgotten something. Let's see, it's not Takeru's birthday, it's not Sora's. Then, huh... who else do I know?" Then, it hit him. "Oh crap! Taichi!"  
  
Yamato immediately ran to the phone and called around for someone to cover the rest of his shift. Finally, he bargained it out of one of the new guys with the promise of a free meal. At 13:00 he finally got to leave, and immediately ran to the grocery store. "I can't believe I forgot his birthday! It was four days ago! After he let me move in with him and practically pays for my room and board by himself! Stupid work. I was hoping to get that raise so I wouldn't be such a bother..."  
  
Upon reaching the grocery store, Yamato went directly to the bakery. "Hi, uh, do you have any cakes that could be ready in about thirty minutes?" The woman behind the counter wearing the hair net just stared at him.  
  
"Thirty minutes?"  
  
"Yes! If I had more time than that I'd make one myself!"  
  
"Well, yes. We have this one." The woman pointed to the cake sitting behind her on the counter. "It's vanilla icing with strawberry cake. Very popular with the girls."  
  
Yamato sweatdropped. The cake was round, big enough for four or five normal people, but just enough to fill up Taichi and still leave Yamato a small piece. The size was perfect. The decorations on it however, were not. Little pink rosettes ran around the edge, and in the center were two big pink hearts. Over all of this, it said simply, "For My Honey" in English. "This... is all you have? Are you SURE?" He was panicking. He had to have a surprise for Taichi tonight to make up for forgetting, but this was ridiculous!  
  
"Yes." The woman turned to walk away.  
  
"No, no. I'll buy it," Yamato said weakly.  
  
***  
  
"A party? Tonight?" Hikari laughed. "Are you kidding? I've got a photo shoot in two hours, and then I've got to meet Takeru-kun after that for dinner!"  
  
"But I forgot Taichi's birthday! I bought him a cake and everything! I don't want to be here by myself with him! It'll be a little weird, don't you think?"  
  
"Well, yes. Especially since... um... well... you know."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh. Never mind," Hikari stated nervously, winding her finger in the phone cord. "I mean, you should be used to Taichi, you do live with him, after all."  
  
"Yes but-"  
  
"Oh! I've got to go! Have fun!" Hikari hung the phone up and sighed. She would have loved to join the boys in their little party, but she had to get to work. Picking up her camera bag and keys, she headed out the door. "Poor Yamato-san, he doesn't even know!"  
  
***  
  
Whistling to himself, Taichi walked up the stairs to his third floor apartment. It had been a pretty good day, apart from Koushirou teasing him for getting henpecked by Yamato. "Then again, it's probably a good thing Koushirou's loosened up enough to make fun of me!" Taichi laughed and stuck his key in the lock, only to find that the door was open. 'Huh, I thought Yamato would still be at work...'  
  
The door swung open to reveal a surprise for Taichi. The apartment was pitch black, the only lights were candles lit at the dinner table. Yamato sat at the far side of the table, wearing a dark blue yukata. His hair was neatly brushed, and the candlelight reflected off of his eyes in a way that made Taichi want to melt.  
  
"Yamato..." Taichi felt as if he'd walked into a dream. "What... what's all this?"  
  
"Happy birthday, Taichi. I'm sorry I forgot it. I hope this makes up for it."  
  
Slowly, Taichi put his things on the floor, and walked over to the table. "Wow..." he mumbled as he sat down. Yamato stood formally, and served the meal. He had surprised himself with what he could throw together in only two hours. He had prepared sashimi for an appetizer, and sekihan and tai for the main course.  
  
"Itadakimasu!" Taichi said happily, and dug into the meal. "Wow, Yamato, you really outdid yourself! This is great!" he said happily, in between bites.  
  
Yamato simply smiled. He had been silly to think things would be awkward! 'It's just Taichi, after all!'  
  
They ate in silence until most of the food was gone. Yamato began to clear the table. "Hey, I've got to help! You cooked!" Taichi said, standing.  
  
"Oh, no! This is a party for you! You're not doing any work! Anyway, there's one last surprise." Yamato carried the plates into the kitchen.  
  
Taichi watched him leave the room, and sighed happily. 'No one's ever done anything like this for me. Yamato is perfect. He's just... perfect.'  
  
"Happy birthday to you!" Yamato began to sing as he walked back into the dining room. Yamato stumbled through the English words, doing his best to pronounce them right. He was also carrying the cake, which was now lit with candles. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Taichi, happy birthday to you!" Yamato paused and sat the cake onto the table. Pulling up his chair to sit right next to Taichi, he said, "Well, make a wish!"  
  
Breaking eye contact with Yamato, Taichi slowly looked down at the cake. He stared. He blinked, then he stared some more. "Um, Yamato?"  
  
"Yes?" Yamato said nervously.  
  
"This cake... is kinda... um..." Taichi blushed after reading the saying on the cake, wondering if Yamato knew what it said.  
  
"Pink?" Yamato sighed. "Sorry, last minute. Had to take what they had..."  
  
"I see." Taichi chuckled a bit, disappointed that it wasn't on purpose. He then closed his eyes, made his wish, and blew out the candles. Yamato leaned forward and cut two slices of cake. He placed them on the desert plates that he had insisted that he and Taichi needed to buy, and handed Taichi the larger one.  
  
"What did you wish for?" Yamato asked, after tasting the pink concoction.  
  
"Mmmmm... this is pretty good!" Taichi said happily.  
  
"Well?" Yamato asked again.  
  
"Don't you know you're not supposed to tell your wishes? They wont come true if you tell." Taichi took a huge bite of cake, getting icing all over himself.  
  
"You're such a mess!" Yamato laughed softly, and wiped the icing off of Taichi's nose with his finger. "There's just no hope for you... you know that?" He trailed off, as he found himself staring into Taichi's eyes.  
  
"Yamato..." Taichi whispered. "Thank you... for the party. I really..." Taichi leaned in closer to Yamato. He could feel the blonde boy's breath on his face, it was warm and smelled sweet. "...appreciate it..."  
  
"What did you wish for, Taichi?" Yamato said softly, entranced by Taichi's face in the candlelight.  
  
"I wished... for you..." Taichi moved in closer, until their lips met. Closing his eyes, Taichi felt himself melt. Yamato did nothing for a moment, then, he slowly returned the kiss. Taichi's hands found their way to Yamato, and pulled him closer. The blonde boy let out a little moan, and shivered slightly. They sat like that for what seemed like an eternity, and yet, not long enough.  
  
Slowly, Yamato broke their kiss, breathing deeply. He sat back in his chair and opened his eyes, only to see Taichi looking at him lovingly. "I'm sorry," Yamato mumbled.  
  
"Don't be sorry..." Taichi's expression of happiness turned to one of worry.  
  
"I didn't mean to do that." Yamato said, clearing his throat. "It was a mistake."  
  
"...a mistake?" Taichi winced.  
  
"I should go." Yamato carefully pulled away from Taichi's grip, and stood. "I don't want to bother you."  
  
"You're not bothering me, Yamato!" Taichi cried desperately. "You've never been a bother! Please don't go, I need you to stay with me."  
  
"You don't need me here, Taichi." Yamato said.  
  
"Yes, I do!" Taichi stepped in front of him, blocking his exit. "I do need you here. I need you here because I love you!"  
  
Silence filled the room. Taichi's eyes widened as he realized what he had said. The color drained from Yamato's face, and he gently pushed Taichi aside. "I'll be back. I just... need to be away for tonight. I'll be back tomorrow. Please, don't... don't be upset." With that, he took his coat from the closet and walked out of the apartment.  
  
"I knew it... I knew I would ruin everything..." Taichi collapsed to the floor and stared at the wall, in shock. He didn't cry.  
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
Important translation notes:  
  
Yukata: The cotton yukata is an informal kimono and is popular as a home garment, especially for summer wear.  
  
sashimi: raw slices of fish  
  
sekihan and tai: sekihan is red rice, and tai is sea bream, a kind of red fish. Red is considered to be a lucky color. On festive occasions, the tai is served broiled completely whole from head to tail. The wish for good luck is thought to be better conveyed through the 'full and perfect shape'.  
  
Itadakimasu - What you say before eating a meal. Sort of like "thanks for the food". 


	8. Confusion

Yay! Chapter 8 already! Um.. it's good I hope. Yeah. Not much to say here... except, please review! Reviewers are getting less and less and the more reviews I get the more I wanna write! *begs* Please? ^_^;;  
  
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Chapter 8 - Confusion  
  
Koushirou was pouring a martini for himself. It was a nice, quiet evening at home, and he intended to enjoy it. After weeks of long hours at work, he was finally ready to relax. That, of course, was before Taichi came knocking on his door.  
  
"Can I come in? Thanks," Taichi said, pushing by Koushirou and walking into his apartment.  
  
"You know, I'm a bit busy right now, Taichi..."  
  
"You won't believe what happened." Taichi sat on the overstuffed leather couch and sighed deeply.  
  
Resigned to his fate, Koushirou sat across from him in his favorite armchair, and drank his martini. "Oh?"  
  
"...I told him." Taichi hung his head, as the reality of his situation set in.  
  
Koushirou blinked a few times, trying to figure out what the heck Taichi was talking about. "You told your boss to kiss your ass?"  
  
Blinking, Taichi looked at his friend oddly. "No... I told-"  
  
The phone began to ring, cutting Taichi short. "Hang on, OK?" Koushirou crossed the room and picked up the receiver.  
  
"Hai? Moshi moshi?" He stood, blinking for a moment. "He what? ... Yes,... um no, I haven't... talked to Taichi..." He looked across the room and shrugged. "Oh my... Well, no. I mean, yes, I knew, but... Uh huh... okay. I will. Yes. See you, then." Slowly, Koushirou turned to Taichi. "You told Yamato that you love him?"  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Mimi-san. I thought you only had a crush on him."  
  
"I did too." Taichi sighed. "I don't know anymore..."  
  
"Well, you'd better figure it out soon, because Yamato and Mimi-san are on their way over here."  
  
"They're WHAT?!" Taichi jumped up.  
  
"Apparently he showed up at her house a mess, and she wanted to bring him over here. She tried cheering him up by showing him her new hat, but it didn't work." Koushirou sweatdropped. "So uh, you'd better think of something to say, or leave."  
  
Taichi thought for a minute. "Actually, can you hear what's going out here from your bedroom?"  
  
"Yeeeeees... why?"  
  
"Well, if I want to know how he *really* feels, I can wait in there and listen in!" Taichi said happily.  
  
"That's eavesdropping, Taichi."  
  
"Yes. Yes, it is. Do you have a better idea?" Taichi scowled.  
  
"I give up. Obviously, I've already been dragged into this damned soap opera life of yours. I might as well get as much entertainment out of it as I can."  
  
***  
  
"Why are we going to see Koushirou, anyway?" Yamato mumbled and looked out the window of the pink Jaguar they were driving in.  
  
"Because, he's a guy, and he's bisexual! So he'll know both sides of the story!" Mimi said happily. "Anyway, he and Taichi are good friends, he might know what's going on!"  
  
Yamato sighed. Going to Mimi's house was the stupidest thing he could have possibly done. Now that she was semi-rich from her job as a food critic, she had matured quite a bit. Working for a living (even when it was a slacker job like food critic) tends to do that to you. She was still Mimi, however, and that meant she had tried to cheer him up by saying things like 'You're not dating Taichi?' and 'Well of course he likes you! Duh! Everyone knew *that*!' The reason he went to see Mimi, out of all of his old friends, was that she was honest and open minded. She wouldn't judge him or freak out. He thought he could get a clearer view on what was happening by talking to her. Instead, he remembered why he had begun avoiding her years ago.  
  
"BY the way..." Mimi said slowly, "don't you think you should've changed?"  
  
Yamato looked down at his yukata and sighed. "Yeah. It is a little cold out here. At least I grabbed my shoes," he said, looking down at his black sneakers.  
  
"YAY! Let's go, then!" Mimi pulled the car over and parked.  
  
"Where are we?" Yamato got out of the car and looked up. "Why are we at the mall?"  
  
"Because we both agree, you need better clothes on!" Mimi said happily, grabbing Yamato's wrist and pulling him behind her.  
  
"I don't have money, Mimi."  
  
"Oh, consider it a donation to the fashion-challenged!" Dragging him into a large department store, Mimi immediately went to the girls' clothing section. "Isn't this CUTE?!" She held up a white tank top with a sparkly pink flower on it.  
  
"I am NOT wearing girls' clothing!" Yamato growled, hoping that no one would see him and recognize him from his band.  
  
"Oh, but it would look so good on you! And here's a matching skirt!" She held up the pink plaid mini skirt to him.  
  
"NO!" Yamato yelled.  
  
"Fiiiiiiiiine." Mimi pouted. "Let's go get you some BORING boys' clothes."  
  
Walking into the men's section, Yamato immediately picked out a black button up shirt and black slacks. "This will do."  
  
"No. Not doing it. I refuse to buy you such a depressing outfit!" Mimi looked as if she was going to cry. "That's horrible! How are you going to turn Taichi on in THAT kind of get-up?!"  
  
"I don't WANT to turn Taichi on!" Yamato blushed at the thought.  
  
"Are you suuuuuuuuuure? You're turning reeeeeeeeeeeed!" Mimi giggled.  
  
"I just want some clothes to wear!" Yamato gritted his teeth.  
  
"Well, at least get something that'll show off your eyes!" Mimi said happily, picking up a blue version of the shirt Yamato wanted. "See?"  
  
"Hmph." Yamato took the shirt dejectedly. "I'm really feeling in more of a black mood today, Mimi."  
  
"Too bad!" Mimi said happily, handing him a pair of jeans. "I can't believe you don't own any jeans! Here."  
  
"That's WAY too expensive! I can't take those!" Yamato looked horrified, glancing at the price tag.  
  
"Oh, whatever!" Mimi took the shirt and jeans and dragged Yamato to the check-out line. "You'll look stunning!"  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Yamato! Haven't seen you in a while!" Koushirou said half- cheerfully. 'There goes my nice relaxing evening.'  
  
"Hi." Yamato slumped onto the couch where Taichi had previously been sitting.  
  
"So, Koushirou-kun, what should we do?" Mimi asked happily, helping herself to his armchair.  
  
Sighing and sitting on the couch next to Yamato, he rolled his eyes. "Well, I think it's more like, 'what should Yamato do'. Anyway, I want to know what happened."  
  
"I had a birthday party for him." Yamato said, seeming half dazed. "There was cake. Then he kissed me."  
  
Mimi and Koushirou blinked in unison. "Oh..." they said.  
  
"Did you kiss back?" Koushirou asked.  
  
"...sort of..." Yamato mumbled.  
  
"So you like him!" Mimi exclaimed.  
  
"No. I'm not gay." Yamato said, suddenly snapping out of his daze. "I'm just not gay! He had no right to do that!" Yamato was getting angry now.  
  
"But you kissed back... how was he to know?" Koushirou said, hoping to prevent Taichi from breaking down in the next room.  
  
"Well... I didn't mean to." Yamato said, stubbornly.  
  
"Are you sure?" Mimi asked slowly. "I mean, I always figured that you and Taichi were perfect for each other!"  
  
"But he said that he *loves* me! Not that he likes me, or anything that easy to handle! He said I couldn't leave because he LOVES me." Yamato hung his head again.  
  
"Oh..." Koushirou mumbled. "Last I heard it was just a crush..."  
  
"What?!" Yamato's head snapped back up. "You knew?!"  
  
"Well... yes. He told me a while ago."  
  
"Why didn't he tell me sooner?!" Yamato yelled.  
  
"I don't get what the big deal is..." Mimi muttered.  
  
"Agh! What does he expect from me?!" Yamato stood and began pacing around the room. "Just to say 'Oh, Taichi! You're right! I love you too!' out of nowhere?!"  
  
In the next room, Taichi winced at hearing those words in such a harsh tone. He forced himself to hold back and not do anything rash, like run into the next room and throw himself at Yamato.  
  
"Well, I'm sure he was hoping that since you kissed him, and didn't hit him or anything, that you're gay..." Mimi said carefully.  
  
"Well, I'm not!"  
  
"Uh huh..." Koushirou mumbled.  
  
"Hey! You don't believe me, do you?!" Yamato was furious, now. "I'll show you! I'll prove I'm not gay!" With that, he left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.  
  
"That went fairly well!" Mimi said happily.  
  
"Sure it did. Come on out, Taichi! He's gone!"  
  
Taichi dragged himself back into the living room, hanging his head low.  
  
Mimi gasped. "Taichi! You were here the whole time?!"  
  
"Yeah," he mumbled.  
  
"So you heard all that?!" Mimi seemed horrified. "That wasn't very nice, listening in on Yamato without his knowing!"  
  
Taichi just sat back on the couch and held his head in his hands. "I can't believe this is happening to me..."  
  
Koushirou awkwardly patted him on the back. "It'll be OK."  
  
Mimi got up and started out the door. "Well, I'd better go give him a ride. I know for a fact he doesn't have anywhere to go." She turned and winked at Taichi. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him for you."  
  
***  
  
"I'm sorry about this..." Yamato muttered as he put the dishes away from the dinner he had prepared for Mimi and himself. "I didn't mean to end up crashing here."  
  
"Oh, it's OK! And by the way, you may want to think of being a professional cook! That was better than most of the restaurants I've eaten at!" Mimi smiled happily.  
  
"Sure." Yamato sighed and sat down in the overstuffed armchair in Mimi's living room. Looking around, he wasn't surprised at the decorations. The furniture was all huge and so soft that it was damned impossible to get out of once you sunk into its plush depths. The pattern on the couch and armchair were one of those floral ones, overly pink and pastel, with giant roses all over the place. The carpet was a deep red, and was the thick, lush kind that just begged for you to sink your toes into it. The windows were huge and had pink, lacy window treatments. All in all, it screamed Mimi.  
  
"Want some hot chocolate?" Mimi called from the kitchen.  
  
"Sure..." Yamato mumbled, trying to ignore the thoughts racing through his head. Coming out of the kitchen with two large mugs, Mimi handed one to Yamato and sat across from him on the couch. "You OK?" Mimi asked, gently.  
  
"Yeah..." Yamato looked down at the hot chocolate and blinked. It was pink. Bright pink hot chocolate. He couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"What? What's so funny?" Mimi started to laugh, too.  
  
"Everything!" Yamato sighed deeply, still smiling. "I should have expected this from you," he said, looking down at his mug. Tasting it carefully, he smiled. "Hey, at least it tastes normal!"  
  
Mimi stuck her tongue out at him. "Of course it tastes good! That's my job!"  
  
"Of course, what was I thinking?" Yamato chuckled.  
  
"You miss him, don't you?" Mimi asked softly.  
  
"Yeah... I wonder if I should have stayed and talked to him, instead of running out. I was just so shocked!" Yamato frowned.  
  
"I... meant your brother. Takeru? The other blond?"  
  
"Oh..." Yamato blushed. "Yeah. I guess I don't see him that often."  
  
"Hikari said that you two really haven't hung out in a long time..." Mimi said, trying to hide her amusement.  
  
"He's just so busy with his own life..." Yamato sighed. "I should call him sometime. Have him come over. Taichi wouldn't mind, I'm sure. After all, they're pretty good friends..."  
  
"You're really broken up about this, aren't you?" Mimi giggled. "You're so cute!"  
  
"Um..." Yamato didn't know what to say.  
  
"The way you two dance around each other is just pathetic, though. It's a good thing Taichi finally spoke up! He was just dying inside from having to hide it..." Mimi sipped her hot chocolate thoughtfully.  
  
"I guess it's good that he told me, then."  
  
"Yes. It is, but you need to give him a response! I mean, if you really aren't gay, and you really aren't interested, you should have just said so! Instead, you left him there wondering!"  
  
"...Truthfully," Yamato stated clearly. "I don't know what I feel."  
  
"So you might...?"  
  
"Yes. Maybe..." Yamato shook his head. "But either way, Taichi is a wonderful person! He's been the best friend I've ever had! I can't risk all that because I *might* be a little attracted to him!" Yamato looked as if he was going to cry. "Anyway, everyone who I've ever opened up to like that has turned away," he whispered.  
  
"Oh, Yamato... you poor thing!" Mimi came over and sat on the arm of the chair, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry. No matter what you do, I know that Taichi will always be there for you."  
  
"I just... need to sleep." Yamato cleared his throat. "I'll be fine after I get some sleep."  
  
"Of course. Come on, I'll show you to the guest room." Mimi stood and led Yamato down a long hallway, and into a large room with a four poster bed. "Is this all right?"  
  
"Geez, you really are rich, aren't you?!" Yamato stared at the lavish room.  
  
Giggling, Mimi turned away. "Sleep well, Yamato! And feel free to stay here as long as you like! This big house could use another life in it for a while!"  
  
Yamato entered the room and closed the door behind him. It was dimly lit, and he immediately began to get tired. He stripped down to his underwear and slipped under the covers of the bed. The sheets were silk, and Yamato felt himself sink into a warm sleepy haze. Still, he didn't feel comfortable. "Damn..." Yamato mumbled. Grabbing one of the extra pillows, he lay it next to him and wrapped his arms around it. "I wonder if Taichi is this soft..." he murmured as he drifted off to sleep. 


	9. Evening Rain

Kyaaaaaa! Last chapter!!! ^_^;; I hope you like it...  
  
Chapter 9 - Evening Rain  
  
There was no dust. After examining the curtains, she was shocked to find that they had been ironed. Her videos were now in alphabetical order. Her kitchen had been totally re-organized. There were fresh flowers in every room. Stunned, Mimi stood in the middle of the darkened room, staring at the cleanliness. There was a noise coming from the den. She spun around and slowly made her way across the floor, stepping lightly, trying not to make a sound.  
  
Slowly, she peeked around the corner, trying to see if he was there. He was. She yanked her head back around the corner, hoping she hadn't been noticed. This man was not in his right mind. Who knew what he was going to do next? Her breathing shallow, she felt her pulse quicken. There was a madman in her home.  
  
"Mimi?" Yamato was standing next to her, looking confused.  
  
"AAAAAH!" Mimi jumped about three feet into the air. "You scared me!" "Sorry... something wrong?" Yamato blinked at her.  
  
Sweatdrop firmly in place, Mimi backed away slowly. "Oh! No, of course not! Nothing is wrong! Nothing is wrong at all! Hahahahahaha!" Her voice got higher with every word.  
  
"...okay..."  
  
"Um, I have to go now!" Mimi ran down the hall into her bedroom. Locking the door behind her, she ran to the phone and dialed Sora's number.  
  
"Hello?" A voice answered.  
  
"Sora!" Mimi almost yelled. "HELP!"  
  
"What's wrong, Mimi?!" Sora asked, frightened.  
  
"Yamato is INSANE!" Mimi lowered her voice. "He's cleaned every inch of my house! I don't know what to do! I put a cup down, and it's gone a second later! I can't finish a meal because he tries to do the dishes while I'm still eating! He's driving me crazy!"  
  
Laughing, Sora responded, "Having trouble?"  
  
"It's not funny! He's really scaring me!"  
  
"Oh, calm down, Mimi! He's just a bit neurotic, that's all." Sora giggled.  
  
"I can't stand having him stay here any longer, Sora! Could you talk to him? Please?"  
  
There was a pause. "I don't think it'll do any good..." Sora muttered.  
  
"Please?! I'm getting desperate!" There was a knock on the door. "Agh! Um... yes, I'll be right out!" Mimi called. Turning back to the phone, she whispered into the line, "That's him! He's looking for me! Please hurry over, Sora! I don't know how long I can stand this!" She hung up the phone and opened the door, smiling nervously.  
  
***  
  
Sora came up the driveway slowly, pulling her car around, and parked in front of the elaborate fountain Mimi had erected in honor of Lilimon. She walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. Inside, she could hear footsteps coming towards the door. She couldn't help but feel that she was stepping into the mouth of hell. When Yamato was depressed, his neurotic cleanliness was enough to drive a person mad. She knew this very well.  
  
"Hello, Sora." Yamato said. "Mimi said you were coming over."  
  
"Hi, Yamato-kun!" Sora smiled.  
  
"Come on in." Yamato moved out of the way and allowed Sora to enter the mansion. The two walked down the long hallway into the living room, where Mimi sat, waiting. "Sora is here," Yamato mumbled.  
  
"Hi, Sora! So, uh, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Mimi asked, hoping Sora would play along.  
  
"Huh? OH! Oh, of course! What I... wanted to talk about... um..." Sora looked over to see Yamato half-glaring at her. "Um, I talked to Taichi today..."  
  
Yamato's expression changed to one of interest. "Is he okay?"  
  
"Well... he's upset," Sora stated. "He really wants to know why you haven't gone home yet."  
  
"I called him and told him Yamato had decided to stay with me for a while," Mimi said slowly. "But I'm sure he misses you, Yamato! You know, you really should just-"  
  
"Just what?!" Yamato snapped at them. "I don't know what to do." He sighed.  
  
Mimi looked over desperately at Sora, hoping her friend could come up with something to get Yamato out of her house. Sora sighed and took a long sip of the tea Mimi had sitting on the coffee table. Finally, the silence was broken.  
  
"Give it up, Yamato-kun. You love him," Sora stated calmly. "You always have." "What?!" Yamato looked as if he was about to storm out of the room.  
  
"It's just a fact. I wish you would stop whining and admit it to yourself!" Pausing, Sora took another sip of tea. "You told me that you had a crush on him in middle school!" Mimi stared at Yamato in shock. "Wow! I didn't know you were gay back then!"  
  
"I'm not! I mean, I wasn't!" Yamato scowled. "I was just confused!"  
  
"No, you weren't! You are now, though. Stop worrying about the fact that Taichi is a boy, and worry about how you feel!" Sora smiled gently. "We're not going to criticize you, Yamato-kun."  
  
Mimi spoke up, "Well, who is the last person you think about before you go to sleep? Who's the first person you think about when you wake up?" She smiled widely. "More importantly, who are you thinking of when you write those love songs for the Wolves?"  
  
Yamato stuttered. "I-I-That's different!"  
  
"No, Yamato-kun. It's not. Think about it," Sora said.  
  
Yamato sighed and remembered sitting on the beach writing songs for his band. Remembering how thinking of Taichi had helped him relax, helped him concentrate. He had never been able to write a love song for Sora. "Well..."  
  
"Who did you see when you looked into the Lake of Truth?" Sora asked, gently.  
  
"What?! How-how did you know about that?!" Yamato jumped up. "I didn't tell anyone about that!"  
  
"Gabumon told Piyomon, who told me." Sora said, a slight smirk on her face.  
  
"What?" Mimi asked, blinking audibly.  
  
"When Yamato-kun looked into the Lake of Truth he was supposed to see what was in his heart." Sora looked straight at Yamato. "He saw Taichi."  
  
"Ohhhhhhhhhh how romantic!" Mimi squealed.  
  
"That was supposed to be private..." Yamato muttered.  
  
"But the point is still the same," Mimi smiled. "You love Taichi!"  
  
"But-" Yamato started.  
  
"Shut up, Yamato-kun! Anyway, Mimi may be a very tolerant person, but I'm sure she's sick of having you mope around the house!"  
  
"Mimi... I'm sorry..." Yamato said quietly, hanging his head. "I didn't mean to be in the way."  
  
"Oh... oh it's okay! I just want you to be happy, Yamato!" Mimi said nervously. She was worried he was about to cry.  
  
"Taichi... deserves someone better than me." Yamato said softly.  
  
"No, he deserves to have someone that he loves!" Mimi said happily. "And he loves you!"  
  
"Just because your ego is tiny doesn't mean that Taichi doesn't love you, Yamato."  
  
"You think I could make him happy?" Yamato asked slowly, blushing.  
  
"I think that if anyone can tolerate someone that genki and disorganized it's got to be you, Yamato-kun." Sora smiled. "Now get over there and tell him you love him before he decides to give up on you!"  
  
***  
  
Crickets were chirping. The breeze chilled him. He only stared into the water. Children ran past him, trying to get to their homes before it began to rain. Businessmen walked by with their umbrellas open, knowing that at any moment, it would begin to pour. The blonde sat still, under the large oak tree, staring into the pond. Rain wouldn't bother him today. Yamato had found his way to the park halfway between the bus stop and Taichi's apartment and stopped to work up his courage.  
  
His icy blue eyes watched as a leaf slowly fell into the water, causing ripples to trace their way through the still depths. His only response was to frown. A group of schoolgirls ran by, giggling as they dodged the few drops of rain that had begun to fall. Yamato stretched an arm out, catching a few drops in his hand.  
  
Staring at the small puddle in his palm, he felt the drops become larger, hitting his back and moistening his hair. The rain was cold, making him shiver. Slowly putting his arm back down, he sighed.  
  
"I'm going to get sick, sitting out here," he whispered, watching the drops of rain fall into the pond, disturbing the still waters. "Go inside, Yamato. Last thing you need is to get a flu." He didn't move. "I'm so stupid."  
  
Images of Taichi were racing through his mind. Remembering when they were children, the way he kept them all together in the digital world, he was the leader. Remembering how he and Taichi would fight, although he didn't really remember why. Remembering how they would always stand a little too close, how Taichi would always make excuses to touch him, to hold his hands. How Yamato had always felt comfortable with that, although he never had with anyone else. The look on Taichi's face when Yamato began dating Sora. The argument that had happened right after Sora brought him those cookies.  
  
Taichi had been almost to the point of tears, something Yamato had only seen a few times before. Standing in the school yard, Taichi had attacked him. After pummeling each other for a few minutes, they lay in the grass, panting. Sitting up, Taichi had said the words Yamato had never understood. "I hope you're happy together."  
  
"He was really hurt..." Yamato mumbled to himself. "Now I know why. But he didn't say anything. Why didn't he tell me sooner?" Frowning, Yamato remembered the distance that had grown between them after that. "He avoided me. I missed him, but I figured we were just growing apart like kids do."  
  
Sighing, Yamato stood and brushed the grass off his pants. "Instead of telling me like a normal person, you just kissed me out of nowhere." A small grin appeared on Yamato's face. "Then again, you've always been dramatic about these sort of things." Raising his hand to his mouth, he traced a finger over his lips. "You kissed me..." He began to walk away.  
  
***  
  
Sitting on the couch, surrounded by dirty dishes, clothes, and a general mess, Taichi was drowning his sorrows in a bowl of cereal. Yamato had been gone three days, and Taichi had already succeeded in destroying the neatness the blonde had worked so hard to create. "I've got to stop feeling so sorry for myself..." Taichi sighed. "I should never have done anything!" Taking a few more bites of the sugar coated cereal he was eating, he blinked. "Then again, he did sort of kiss back... I mean, it's not like he shoved me away or anything!" Shaking his head, Taichi chuckled. "I've got to stop getting my hopes up. He's not gay, he's not interested in me. Hell, even if he was gay I doubt that he'd like me. I'm not exactly his type..." Taichi thought darkly of Sora.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Taichi stared at it, then went back to his cereal. "I'm not getting up. I don't want to deal with anyone," he growled. However, whoever it was on the other side of the door was not very patient. "I'm not home!" Taichi yelled, then sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm coming." He stood slowly, and walked across the room towards the door.  
  
"Your rent is late, Taichi-kun!" The scary old lady standing there said angrily. "Oh. Hi, Kanrinin-san." Taichi turned away and began sorting through a pile of papers on the table. "Here it is." He handed the envelope to the manager. "It's been a weird day. I forgot."  
  
"Well just don't let it happen again!" The woman said, as Taichi closed the door in her face.  
  
"That's it, I'm really not answering that stupid door again." Taichi went back to the couch and picked his bowl back up. There was another knock on the door. Twitching involuntarily, Taichi sat down and glared at the door. "I'm NOT getting back up."  
  
The knock persisted. "FINE! I GIVE UP!" Taichi yelled as he crossed the room. "This had BETTER be important!" Yanking the door open, Taichi glared at the person standing there.  
  
"...Sorry... I... left my keys here..." Yamato looked a bit shocked, and began to back up.  
  
Staring, Taichi felt himself freeze in place. The blonde was standing there, soaked. He looked as if he was about to cry. "...No, it's okay. I didn't know it was you..." Taichi mumbled.  
  
Breathing in deeply, Yamato stared at Taichi and stepped forward again. "I need to talk to you."  
  
"...okay..." Still frozen in place, Taichi couldn't move aside to let Yamato in. "What?"  
  
"I really... was confused, Taichi. Really confused." Yamato forced himself to make eye contact with the boy in front of him. "I had to think about it a lot." He pushed Taichi into the apartment and closed the door behind them. Feeling himself blush, he forced himself to talk. "I can't promise anything, Taichi."  
  
Confused, Taichi nodded. "yeah..."  
  
"I care about you, Taichi." Yamato forced the words out. "I care about you... a lot." Yamato breathed in deeply again, bracing himself. "Even though I've only been away from you for a few days, I missed you. At first I was really angry. I wanted to prove I wasn't gay. I was ready to go out with any girl. I was ready to call Sora and beg for her back, just so I could prove it. But... I couldn't do it. I didn't want... to kiss anyone else." Yamato felt himself blush again. "I care for you, Taichi. I think I always have. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. I'm sorry for ever ignoring you, for being with Sora. I was just scared." He tried to read Taichi's expression, but the other boy was just staring at him, smiling.  
  
"Are you done yet?" Taichi asked.  
  
"...yeah... sorry." Yamato blushed, embarrassed that he had gone on for so long.  
  
Taichi wrapped his arms around the blonde and held him close. "Good. Because it's hard to kiss and talk at the same time."  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Translation Note: Kanrinin-san - Manager. In this case, the manager of the apartment building that Taichi lives in. 


End file.
